Now Serving Mr Lloyds
by thunder-fish
Summary: Had sucking up to people in authority been an Olympic event, Barnaby Brooks Jr. knew he was working for the US team captain.
1. Spelling Bee

**Now Serving Mr. Lloyds**

 **Chapter One: Spelling Bee**

Barnaby was sick of this.

Well, not literally _sick_ , but it was close. 'Fed up' wasn't extreme enough for what he was feeling, and 'tired' didn't even scratch the surface of the simmering defensiveness he was experiencing for his partner right now. If anyone attacked Kotetsu, Barnaby wanted them to have a criminal record so that he, Barnaby Brooks Jr., would be justified in flattening them. While he really couldn't flatten his immediate boss, the temptation to do so was very, very real.

Had sucking up to people in authority been an Olympic event, Barnaby Brooks Jr. knew he was working for the US team captain. Spineless boot licker to the core, Alexander Lloyds was, after a brief honeymoon following the Justice Day attack, back to his usual posture of treating Koketsu like he was somehow disposable. It was a bad habit that had started the day the two men had met and Lloyds had never given much effort to break in order to get Wild Tiger to comply with directions. Though he could no longer threaten Wild Tiger's job, he could nitpick and ride his back at every opportunity. Granted Kotetsu could be stubborn and dense and a whole host of related adjectives and to put it mildly he and Lloyds had gotten off to a bad start, but he had been blindsided by the change in employers and Lloyds had been anything but welcoming to the veteran Hero. Lloyds had considered Wild Tiger yesterday's news and made no attempt to mask his contempt. Kotetsu answered with the respect due an employer and not much more. Over the past three years, their relationship hadn't improved simply because it had never really developed past the threat stage.

Wild Tiger was back by popular demand, back where he belonged in the First League, back with his partner. The citizens of Stern Bild had pretty much gone wild for Wild Tiger, and the other Heroes had gladly stood back and let him ride the wave of popularity he so richly deserved. Hero TV was keeping that upswell going full force with interviews, charity events, appearances and promotions. It was exciting and fun and now that Golden Ryan was mercifully out of the picture, Barnaby was as close to perfectly happy as he'd ever been. They were almost as busy as when Barnaby had been crowned the King of Heroes, and with his partner receiving equal attention, this time around was even more enjoyable.

Except in the office.

Tension was running high more often than not, courtesy of Alexander Lloyds.

And right now, Barnaby had taken about as much as he could stomach. Yes, Kotetsu could be clumsy in word and action, but at the end of the day he still embodied many of the traits to which Barnaby aspired. He was a Hero in every sense of the word.

"Kaburagi, are you even capable of spelling?" demanded Lloyds, appearing in the door to his office. He displayed a handwritten form and had a look on his face that said he wanted to roll the wad of paperwork up and smack Kotetsu upside the head with it.

Said Hero was already on his feet and moving toward the exit for an appointment with Mr. Saito. Glad to dodge this speeding bullet, he flashed a grin over his shoulder. "No, Mr. Lloyds. My specialty is endurance."

The door closed behind him. Lloyds glowered, then glared at their secretary as if somehow Wild Tiger's inability to spell was her fault. He fully intended to make it her problem.

"Carol, make sure he knows how to spell my name the next time he turns in a report."

She reached for the paperwork and gave it a quick glance, noting the issue immediately. Throughout the page, Lloyds had been spelt with just one 'L.' Carol hummed faintly as she returned the report, giving Barnaby a quick look as she did so. He sensed an ally in his irritation. Granted he had a slight echo of sympathy for Lloyds' dilemma, seeing as how Koketsu had saddled him with a childish nickname almost as soon as they had met. It had taken Barnaby the better part of a year to get over himself and to wrap his brain around the phenomenon that was Kotetsu T, Kaburagi, and today he looked upon the name 'Bunny' as an endearment from his best, closest friend.

"Can do, sir," Carol promised. "It should only take about three months."

"What?" he barked, scandalized.

She fixed him with the same gaze she would have used on a misbehaving dog or toddler. "Isn't that about how long it took you to learn to say his name correctly?"

Taken aback, Lloyds could only gape, but his silence spoke more than words about the truth of the matter. Barnaby steeled himself not to respond to such a lack of professionalism on Lloyds' behalf. Carol got back to typing.

"Kotetsu doesn't do so bad, all in all," she said calmly. "Sure he spells a lot of stuff phonetically, but then, English is his second language."

Barnaby saw his chance and pounced. Taking his cue from the older woman, he kept typing as he said, "Third."

They ignored Lloyds and his indignation and got down to the business of singing Wild Tiger's praises.

"Third?" Carol prompted, impressed. "Japanese, English, and . . . ?"

"Japanese, Spanish, _then_ English. I got some fan mail from Mexico City last week that he translated for me, and he even helped me send a reply in Spanish."

"I'm going to remember that tidbit," swore Carol. The picture of innocence, she glanced to where Lloyds still occupied the space beside her desk, clearly trying to figure out how he could recover his status of victim in this situation. "Do you speak another language, Barnaby?"

"I can hold my own in French, but it takes a lot of focus. I'm not as fluent at Kotetsu," gushed Barnaby, his typing reduced to gibberish in his distraction. "How about you, Mr Lloyds? Do you speak another language?"

Only Barnaby Brooks Jr., Apollon's golden child, TV heart throb, and one-time King of Heroes could have gotten away from such a line of questioning unscathed. Then again, he could have crushed Lloyds with his pinkie if so inclined. There was a pause, and finally he looked up to Lloyds with feigned curiosity. He was rewarded with a frown.

"Let's get some work done, people!" Lloyds snapped, closing his office door behind him with a little too much force as he beat a hasty retreat.

They were silent for a few moments, enjoying their little victory.

"Man's a twit," stated Carol under her breath, and Barnaby, who was too intelligent to argue, let out a little hum of agreement as he got back to work, feeling smug as he thought,

 _Wild Tiger 1, Lloyds 0._


	2. Grown on a Petri Dish

**Chapter Two: Grown on a Petri Dish**

"Good morning, Mr. Lloyds. Do you have a moment?"

"What is it, Doctor?"

It was pretty impossible to argue with the fact that Dr. Saito was a strange little man. Undoubtedly a genius, but strange. It started with a megaphone atop his head to amplify his unnaturally soft voice and things just went downhill from there. While Lloyds wasn't particularly busy, he also didn't particularly want to spend time with the scientist. Still, it was better to deal with Saito and get the annoyance over with rather than put it off for later. For all the strangeness, whatever Saito had to say was usually as important as it was confusing.

"I want you to know that the new armor for Tiger and Barnaby will be completed as scheduled in time for the season's premier. I've made a number of improvements, particularly to Wild Tiger's suit. I've arranged for him to come in on Monday to familiarize himself with the armor's features."

At least Kaburagi had gotten into the habit of paying attention. "Why focus on Wild Tiger?" Lloyds asked, then mentally kicked himself for initiating any discussion. There was no escape now, though he kept moving slowly toward the elevators. He was rewarded with this little troll of a man adjusting his glasses and giving him a look as if Lloyds was something he'd grown on a Petri dish that turned out to be not quite what he expected.

"To help compensate for the limited duration of his Hundred Power, I've adapted some of the hydraulic systems from the battle androids Rotwang built for Wild Tiger's suit. Even without his powers activated, the new armor will increase Tiger's arm and leg strength as well as his speed and breaking ability. So he'll be able to do more and hold his power in reserve until called for."

 _Meaning when Barnaby tells him to activate his NEXT power_ , thought Alexander Lloyds. _Thank god for Brooks_. Wild Tiger left to his own devices was a disaster. "Is that within the rules of Hero TV?"

"Of course. And costume or weapon changes are fully vetted."

"So why focus on Wild Tiger?"

"I was getting to that. Mark Schneider saw fit to interfere with my schedule for upgrading their suits and cancelled any production related to Wild Tiger. Since Golden Ryan came with his own interpretation of body armor, the labs focused solely on Barnaby. Now we're playing catch up."

The implied criticism caught his attention. "What was wrong with Ryan's armor? It was very eye catching and looked good for the cameras."

That grown on a Petri dish look again. "It had a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles. I've yet to determine the point of the wing apparatus on his suit."

"Showmanship," suggested Lloyds.

Saito shook his head in open disgust. "Theatrics. Unnecessary weight and a potential hazard. Just what body armor should not be. Ryan was more interested in making a statement than efficiency. Why do you think Rotwang based his battle androids on Wild Tiger and not Barnaby?"

He'd never given it a thought until this moment. "I presume because of Maverick's plan to frame . . . " He paused for the briefest moment, concentrating on his pronunciation. ". . . Kotetsu Kaburagi for the murder of Samantha Taylor."

"You would presume incorrectly. How long do you think it would take to make and program such a sophisticated machine, let alone almost two dozen of them? You can't throw weaponry like that together in a weekend! Maverick's plan to frame Wild Tiger was sloppy and impulsive. His mistake was he underestimated Wild Tiger. A lot of people do. Those battle androids were fully functional and already housed in the Justice Tower by the time things came to a head over the murder of Barnaby's parents."

As a fully functional lackey himself, Lloyds felt compelled to point out in defense of his former employer, "He was almost successful."

"Almost doesn't count on Hero TV. Maverick should have known that. Back to my point. Rotwang fashioned the battle androids on Tiger because from the start we were able to customize his armor better than Barnaby's. I'm sure you've noticed how it's more specialized and streamline."

He had noticed no such thing, but then, he hadn't really paid attention. Despite all his inner voices telling him to shut his mouth, Lloyds was intrigued. "Yes. Of course I did. Why is that? Of the two of them, Barnaby strikes me as the better fighter."

Saito looked up at him and Lloyds suspected the scientist was fighting to keep himself from shaking his head in something akin to pity. "Not exactly. Barnaby compensates for any of his armor's shortcomings, while Wild Tiger's armor compensates for his changing powers. Of the two of them, Tiger is in a better position, at least from the point of view of a scientist. Besides, Wild Tiger has over a decade of experience as a Hero, which allowed us to cater to his combat needs when designing his armor. Barnaby is still a work in progress."

"But Barnaby is still a better fighter."

"Barnaby is a tactician. Wild Tiger is a strategist."

Lloyds blinked slowly, knowing he was going to hate himself for asking. "Aren't they the same thing?"

"Far from it. Tactics win battles. Strategies win wars. Barnaby has intense focus on the here-and-now. Kotetsu takes a much longer view of things and events. It shows in their approach to gaining points."

He couldn't imagine Wild Tiger winning anything, especially a war. "Kaburagi could take a lesson from Brooks."

"Perhaps, but if he did so, Stern Bild might be the worse for it. Fortunately, since they've cemented their partnership, they seem to be good influences on each other and they're both moving toward more middle ground. They are well and truly a team."

It was a conclusion Lloyds would not have drawn on his own without prompting. Faced by the truth of it, though, he could not debate the facts. Barnaby still scored well, but that wasn't his only focus. The actual role of being a Hero versus top scorer had taken center stage for him. Wild Tiger managed to listen to sense more (at least sense coming from Brooks) and had cut back on the impulsive tendencies. His fading powers had forced the issue. Now that they were back in the First League, Barnaby was in third place with a very good shot at second or even first place again by the end of the season. Wild Tiger was hot on his heels in fourth, and odds were good if Barnaby rose in the ranks, so would his partner - or, as in the past, Wild Tiger would let Barnaby take points he might have earned. Not even Lloyds could complain about such numbers, though Wild Tiger's habit of helping rival Heroes gain points sometimes rankled Lloyds' sensitivities even as it endeared him to the audience.

Saito went on talking. "What's more, Wild Tiger has a growing reputation among the younger fan base as a father figure, especially towards the youngest Heroes."

"How do you know that?" demanded Lloyds, astonished.

Again, the look. They had reached the elevators, though he had nowhere to go at the moment, and he was relieved when Saito pressed a button to go down to his lab. "You need to read more fan fiction."

"Fan what?"

"Fan fiction. Stories written for fans, by fans. It can be surprisingly accurate and well-researched and is a good indicator of fan sentiment. Wild Tiger's fandom has had an influx of teenage girls not unlike Barnaby's premier."

He was having issues wrapping his brain around this new concept. "Fan fiction?"

"I'll send you some links. Pay attention to the crowds and what they're wearing, Mr. Lloyds. They can be very revealing."

The elevator doors opened and they waited as Agnes Joubert exited. Saito gave her a cheery "Good morning!" Lloyds waited until Saito was gone to ask,

"Have you ever heard of fan fiction?"

"Of course," Agnes said. "Some of it is very good and surprisingly accurate."

Lloyds sighed, knowing he'd lost this round and glad for the limited number of witnesses to his ignorance. He was out of his league and he knew it. Agnes gave him a look not too far removed from the one Saito had given him, then turned it into a condescending smile. "Get with the times, Mr. Lloyds, especially since your boys are the hottest ticket in the Heroes fandom right now."

He sighed again, resigned to his fate. He couldn't fight so many forces at once. "Fine. I'll be in my office. Doing research."

She wasn't fooled. "I'll send you some links," she said helpfully.

"Thanks. I can hardly wait."

"We'll make a Wild Bunny fan of you yet."

"A _what?"_

"You'll find out."


End file.
